


Odi et Amo

by Zeyda



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Cass is a riot, F/M, Fluff and Angst, NO rape, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Pacifist courier, Romance, Violence, not strictly canon compliant, ooc Vulpes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:55:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29558742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeyda/pseuds/Zeyda
Summary: After being nearly killed by Benny, courier six has decided to live out her life as a pacifist. She's been able to gain control of an independent New Vegas, without killing a single person.The courier is exceptionally good at stealth and manipulation. She can sneak and talk her way out of most situations.She is a beautiful woman and knows it. Shamelessly, she will flirt with men and women alike to gain an advantage and get herself out of danger.  Sometimes, she does it just for fun.This works out fine for her until she unwittingly earns the affections of someone cruel and dangerous. What will the courier find hidden beneath his cold, emotionless exterior? 🦊
Relationships: Female Courier/Vulpes Inculta
Comments: 14
Kudos: 12





	1. Salve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Look who's starting a brand new fic in a brand new fandom, neglecting all of her old, unfinished fics.
> 
> That's right! It's me.
> 
> I've read like 50 Vulpes fics in the past few weeks, and I can't get enough. He's a delight.
> 
> This is not strictly following the game. I know that several quests/ companions are not possible in a no-kill run.
> 
> Lets just pretend that the courier was able to manipulate, sneak and flirt her way out of any fighting. I'll try and explain her methods through the fic. Just bear with me.
> 
> I'm writing this just for fun. Please be nice. My head is not in a great place these days. 
> 
> Hopefully this will make someone somewhere smile. Enjoy!

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Shunned and humiliated by the legion, Vulpes Inculta was on his way to try and find himself an unlikely ally. If he played his cards right, he could convince her to help him. He would stop at nothing to get his revenge on Lanius.

The woman had intrigued him from the moment he laid eyes on her. As he prepared to leave Nipton, still feeling the high from the success of his 'lottery', he noticed that a traveler had wandered into the town. He pulled his binoculars from his pack, trying to get a better look. The traveler was a woman, wearing a vault suit of all things, like some wealthy Vegas tourist.

Through his binoculars, he watched Oliver Swanick, a disgusting worm of a man, run towards her. He shouted at her before running off into the Mojave, only to be immediately stung by a radscorpion. Vulpes did nothing to hide his amusement, chuckling to himself as the creature tore into Oliver with its claws.

Oliver's death presented a new problem though, there was now nobody to go and warn the NCR of the man in the vexillarius helmet and his brutal siege of Nipton. Above all else, Vulpes thrived on the fear of his enemies.

The woman continued her trek towards the city hall, gaping at the crucified bodies that lined the streets. As she approached, he was able to get a better look at her. She was young, couldn't be much older than 25, but looked weathered nonetheless. An angry pink scar decorated her hairline, lying in front of thick black hair pulled into a tight bun. She looked well fed for a wastelander, her hips and bosom round, filling out the vault suit pleasingly. This further confirmed his suspicions that she may be wealthy.

He walked towards her, his men following close behind.  
"Don't worry, I won't have you lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates. It's useful that you happened by."

She looked at him, her eyes were filled with wonder, and if he wasn't mistaken, arousal. Her pupils were dilated, fixated on his face. It was a look many women had given him while disguised as someone else, but never as Vulpes Inculta.

To make things even more confusing, she bit her lip and fussed with her hair as he spoke. She was acting as if he was meeting her in some profligate bar, not in a burning town filled with the death rattles of the damned.

"I want you to witness the fate of the town of Nipton, to memorize every detail. And then, when you move on? I want you to teach everyone you meet the lesson that Caesar's Legion taught here. Especially any NCR troops you run across."

"What "lessons" did you teach here?" She asked him, her lips scrunched into a pout. Everything about this woman screamed sex and it made Vulpes want to take her up against the side of the town hall. A man of infinite self control and professionalism, he continued, apparently unaffected.

"Where to begin? That they are weak, and we are strong? This much was known already. But the depths of their moral sickness, their... dissolution? Nipton serves as the perfect object lesson."

"What exactly happened here?" She asked, leaning into him. Her voice was breathy and warm against his skin. Vulpes shuddered involuntarily. Who the hell was this deranged woman and why was she acting this way?

He continued his spiel, exactly as he had rehearsed it. Never once did the woman show even the slightest hint of fear. It irked him to no end.

After she agreed to inform the NCR about Niptons fate, Vulpes bid her vale. They parted ways, but the woman remained in his thoughts, often appearing late at night when he was alone in his tent.

To make matters worse, she had made quite the reputation for herself. Known only as 'The Courier', she went on to accomplish impossible things. Like some sort of political virtuoso, she had gained control of New Vegas for herself, within only months of arriving at the gates of Freeside.

He watched her from a distance as she gained the trust and support of the Khans, the families of the Strip, even the goddamn Boomers. No outsiders had ever been allowed in Nellis, yet she could now stroll right in, getting along with Pearl as if they were the oldest of friends. Like a puppet master, she manipulated those around her, contorting them as she pleased, always knowing which strings to pull.

She spent her time doing ridiculous tasks, helping people with seemingly frivolous nonsense. A sexbot for the Atomic Wrangler.  
A teddy bear for a little Boomer girl. A radscorpion gland for a woman in Primm, who in turn gave her some sort of strange casserole. None of it made any sense to Vulpes, but he couldn't deny the results of her efforts. She was beloved by nearly everyone.

Everyone but the Legion, that is.

She had thrown Lord Caesar's gift of mercy right back in his face, and was now wanted dead for her insolence. Benny's head was offered up to her on a platter, the man who had shot her and taken her memories.

Honestly, Vulpes should have known better. The Courier was not a violent person. He had never seen her fight. She never wielded any sort of weapon. No obvious weapons anyway. Her quick wit, curvaceous body, and fiery eyes were more effective than any blade forged by the Legion's blacksmith.

He shouldn't have been surprised when he watched her and Benny disappear under the cloak of two stealth boys, escaping The Fort completely unscathed.

Vulpes was to later learn, much to his horror, that she had taken the man as her lover. This caused new, strange feelings to overtake him.

Caesar had been furious, sending assassin after assassin to kill her. None had been able to even locate the woman.

In an unfortunate string of events, the Lord Caesar had succumbed to a brain tumor. The moment Legate Lanius had taken over as the new leader, the Frumentarii were disbanded. Lanius had also ordered that Vulpes's "actions and disloyalty" be investigated thoroughly. Understanding that the political winds had shifted considerably and that all of this was likely leading to his execution, he fled.

Vulpes hated Vegas. The strip never slept. Even at 3 a.m. the streets were filled with drunk revelers and prostitutes.

"Woooo!"

"Crocker can kiss my sweet Republic ass!"

He watched with disgust as a half naked woman threw up violently into the fountain outside the Ultra Luxe, presumably a member of the NCR. A group of women had formed, all intoxicated and dancing lewdly. Several securitrons and officers were in the process of subduing them.

"Are you going to spank us? I *so* love handcuffs!" One of the women slurred.

"What a bunch of degenerates…" he mumbled to himself. If his men were ever to act that way, he would beat them into a bloody pulp.

He made his way towards his target, grappling hook in hand. He admired the device, originally used by the Roman navy. Although, the version that Vulpes had acquired was considerably more advanced. The pull of a trigger shot the hook hundreds of feet up into the air.

On the side of the Lucky 38 not facing the strip, he found a spot entirely engulfed in shadows. It took a few tries, the hook wasn't the most accurate to shoot, but it eventually caught onto the lip of the building's roof.

Pleased with himself, he began silently scaling the side of the tower.

Stopping at what he presumed was the presidential suite, (the windows were so grimy one couldn't be sure) he quietly slid open a window that had been left unlocked.

Inside, he found a red haired woman passed out and snoring loudly on an extravagantly made bed. He knew her to be Rose of Sharon Cassidy, one of the couriers' very eclectic group of friends and traveling companions. She was passed out cold, likely due to the nearly empty fifth of whiskey lying next to her. Because she was the only one in the guest bedroom, Vulpes figured the others must be elsewhere tonight. He smiled to himself, this should be easy.

He quietly crept past her bed, through the darkness, and into the hallway.

Suddenly, a light came on in the Master bedroom. Vulpes froze as a man emerged from the doorway. He recognized him as Benny, the Courier's lover, and enemy of the Legion. Vulpes felt a mixture of disgust and rage as he realized that he had been in bed with the Courier. _His Courier._

Clad in a pair of ugly plaid boxers, the man stared at him perplexed.

"Hey babydoll, why is there some crumb wandering around our digs..?" the man called into the bedroom. He heard a woman mumble sleepily from within.

In a moment of blind fury, Vulpes reached for his machete, a stealthier weapon than his prized ripper. In one swift movement, he had shoved Benny down to the ground. In another, he hacked at his neck, decapitating him. A pool of blood began forming around the man's now limp body. He smiled viciously at his work, taking pride in the beautiful crimson seeping into the lush carpet.

"Mors tua, vita mea.*" Vulpes whispered as he picked up Benny's severed head, considering what his next move should be.

*Your death, my life

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

A woman emerged from the bedroom, wearing a lace nightgown. Vulpes couldn't help but stare at her exposed figure as she quickly grabbed a robe that had been hanging on a hook. She wrapped the soft robe around herself for modesty.

"Ave, Courier." He gave her a smile that could chill a crocodile's blood. Setting Benny's head aside and wiping his bloodied hands on his pants, Vulpes rose to his feet.

"WHY?!" The courier screamed, tears already streaming down her face.

"He's a known enemy of the Legion, as are you. Consider this death a mercy. He should have been lashed and crucified for his crimes." Vulpes replied, expression unreadable.

"So you're here to kill us?! Is that it? What did we ever do to you?!"

"You humiliated Lord Caesar." Vulpes hissed. "And no, I'm not here to kill you."

"What are you even talking about?! Oh Benny…" the courier fell to her feet, breaking out into an ugly sob.

"He was a scoundrel. I'm not sure if you're aware, but every Thursday night he would go out drinking and he'd have… relations with other women." Vulpes winced as he spoke.

The courier didn't respond, still curled into a ball, sobbing. Vulpes let out a frustrated sigh. He made his way over to the courier, pulling out a rope from his pack. The courier froze as he began binding her wrists together behind her back. He tightly held her bindings, keeping her trapped in place.

"I know you won't fight back." Vulpes whispered, his lip twitching up into a smirk. He immensely enjoyed the sight of this woman bound, at his mercy. "Now, get up."

The courier slowly rose to her feet, eyes filled with a fiery rage.

"What do you want from me? Why did you tie me up?"

"I just want to talk. I want you to hear me out before running off."

"I have nothing to say to you. If you're going to kill me, get it over with." She kicked backwards at his shin, which Vulpes easily dodged.

"I already told you, I'm not here to kill you." He said, voice softer now.

"Then what do you want? I'd rather die than be a legion slave! I know how your women are treated."

"We cherish and protect our women."

At that, the courier snorted. Vulpes ignored her, continuing.

"Listen. Lord Caesar has died, leaving the cruel Legate Lanius in his place."

"Um, okay?"

"He stripped me of my position. I'm now a fugitive. If found, I face torture and a gruesome death."

"And this is my problem, why?"

"Lanius is not fit to be a leader. Unlike his predecessor, he lacks any sense of diplomacy or subtlety. I expect the Legion to march on Vegas within a fortnight." Vulpes whispered, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair.

"And then Lanius and the rest of you idiots will get blasted to bits by the NCR and my securitrons. Good fucking riddance. You know, I've never once so much as laid a finger on a single one of you, and you still sent assassins after me."

Vulpes frowned. "There are things you do not know."

"Like what?"

"In my investigations, I found blueprints for an old-world device. It's called an EMP, an electromag-"

"I know what an EMP is." The courier interrupted him, visibly annoyed.

"Oh." Vulpes looked at her, surprised. "Then you understand the threat one would pose to the Vegas strip? The Legion possesses this technology. Lanius was always fascinated by it. He claimed it would disable our enemy's evil technologies and force a fair and honorable fight."

"Yeah… So we're both screwed. What the hell do you want me to do about it?"

"I would like to form an alliance. Together, I think we have a chance of survival. You see, we both possess a similar skillset that…"

"I'm gonna stop you right there. I don't think my burning people alive and crucifying entire towns skills are quite up to par with yours." She spat out.

Vulpes frowned. "That's not what I'm talking about. Stealth. Persuasion. Disguises. Reconnaissance. All things that you have proven to be frustratingly good at. It's impressive what you've been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time…"

A wistful smile spreads over his face. "You would have made a fine Frumentarius. If you were one of my men, I'd have worried about you stealing my position. As you are, you'd have been an invaluable advisor or officer's wife. Most likely both..."

 _My wife._ Vulpes quickly pushes the thought from his mind.

"Um… thanks?" A faint blush dusted her cheeks.

"My point is that I have been closely watching you and your friends for quite a while now. I respect your abilities and I think we may be able to help each other."

"First of all: creepy. Second: not even five minutes ago, you lopped my boyfriend's head off, implied that you were doing him some kind of favor, and tied me up. Why the hell would I want anything to do with you?"

"He called me a crumb. I'm not entirely sure what that means but I didn't like his attitude. Besides, he would be nothing but a liability... Do you know what he was doing when I caught him sneaking around The Fort?"

"What?"

"I found him hiding behind a tent, ogling the wet nurses."

Trying and failing to suppress a giggle, the courier shook her head. It was a delicious sound that Vulpes immediately wanted to hear more of. Glancing over at Benny's body, her smile quickly returned to a frown.

"You didn't have to kill him. He wasn't armed. He was in his underwear for god's sake."

"Like I said, it was a mercy. The Legion is coming, dear Courier… Let me untie you. I'll return in a few days, expecting your answer. If you are going to accompany me, we're going to need supplies and equipment. Why don't you get some together in the meantime?" Vulpes deftly unbound her wrists, admiring the red marks caused by the friction of the ropes.

"And what if I don't want to help you?" She scoffed.

Vulpes shrugged. "It's your choice. I'm the only person who knows what the Legion is planning. For I was the creator of many of those plans. I'm your best chance at survival. Or… If you would prefer, I could grant you the same mercy as your boyfriend." He gave her a dark smile. The thought of sweet crimson wrung from her body by his hands was an attractive one.

"Um. No thank you."

"Then I'll be awaiting your decision. Vale, cara.*"

*Goodbye, beloved

He nodded to her and slipped back into the guest bedroom. She went to follow him, but he was already gone out the window.

She sat on the bed and curled up next to Cass, not wanting to be alone. Benny's body would have to be dealt with in the morning. She cried into Cass's arms the rest of the night, sleep evading her.

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	2. Sepultura

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Six awoke to Cass's screams.

She shot up from the bed and peered into the hall. Cass was kneeling beside Benny's body.

"What the fuck happened?!" her eyes were wild.

Six shivered as she recalled the events of the night before.

"You remember that Legion man I told you about?"

"Which one? The guy with the sexy voice and the dog hat that you teased in Nipton?" Cass smirked. 

"Yeah. That's the one. He was here last night… He murdered Benny and told me the Legion are going to attack Vegas soon." Six felt tears stinging her eyes once more. "My poor Benny…"

"I'm sorry Six… What are we going to do about his body?"

"Lets wrap him up in some old bedsheets and we can bury him. I know just the place." She said with a sad smile.

The trip to Goodsprings Cemetery was fairly uneventful. They didn't run into any trouble, aside from a couple of Fiends that they easily snuck past. The two hauled the surprisingly heavy body through the desert in silence. When they were about halfway there, Cass finally spoke up.

"So what's this about the Legion attacking Vegas?" Cass asked, quietly. 

"I guess they somehow got their hands on an EMP… I'm assuming they plan on cutting power to the city and raiding it once it's vulnerable. Vulpes…" Six frowned, not liking the way his name felt on her tongue.

"He's a fugitive. I guess the new fuckhead in charge of the Legion doesn't like him. I can't imagine why… Anyways, he wanted us to work together."

"And you said no, right?"

"I sure as hell didn't say yes. He said that he'd be back in a few days, wanting an answer. He was so creepy, Cass! I'm pretty sure he was smelling my hair." 

"Yikes. What are you gonna do?"

"I don't know… I mean, the more I think about it, accepting his help would make sense…"

"You're not seriously considering…"

"He knows what the Legion is planning… I've done much more questionable things for that kind of information."

"He killed Benny!"

"Yeah and Benny tried to kill me. We live in a fucked up world." At that, the two women remained silent for a while.

"Where would we go? Vegas is our home..." Cass finally spoke, her voice soft.

Six's eyes lit up. "I have a few ideas, actually."

It felt strange, burying Benny in the same hole that he had once left her in. It was where they met. Where he had tried to kill her. The whole thing was strangely poetic. 

Six never loved Benny. He was fun to be around and a fantastic lover, but she had never seen any sort of future with him. It was all smiles and wild sex, never anything deeper. He was a flawed man: shallow, vain, selfish. 

She knew that he wasn't faithful to her. It should have bothered her more than it did. Vulpes had been correct. Every Thursday, Benny would disappear into the night. More often than not he returned to the Lucky 38 drunk, neck covered in love bites.

She felt nothing but a hollow sadness about his death. She would miss his company, sure. She had used him as much as he had used her. It was a mutually parasitic relationship, unhealthy to say the least. 

After covering his body in dirt, Cass held her for a while. As rough around the edges as she may be, Cass was the best friend she had. She was loyal to a fault. She did things for Six that she couldn't do herself. It was Cass who had mercifully shot Mr. House. Six had opened his living chamber, exposing him to the contaminants of the world. Six had been so conflicted, not wanting the man to suffer, but unable to go against her vow of pacifism. It was something the women had never talked about, but they shared an understanding.

They cried for a while, holding each other, before deciding it was time to keep moving. 

Vaults had always fascinated Six. Despite having found better armor through her travels, she never was able to part with the vault suit that Doc Mitchell had gifted her. 

The doctor was a sweet man. He had told her tales of his life in Vault 21. Fondly, he spoke of his late wife. They had met inside the Vault as children. Life inside the vault sounded like heaven compared to the harsh desert. There was plenty of food, clean water, electricity. Most importantly, it was safe.

Mr. House, of course, forced everyone to leave the vault. It would be repurposed into a hotel. Mitchell's wife was delicate, having lived her life in the safety of the vault. She eventually succumbed to the Mojave, causing the doctor to retire in Goodsprings.

Obviously, Vault 21 wasn't an option. However, Six knew of other vaults, ones she had come across in her travels. A vault would be an ideal base for her and her friends to hide out in. Secure from the outside and often equipped with still-working turrets, they could stay there safely. 

As for Vulpes… if the Legion were in fact going to attack Vegas, she owed him her life. As much as she disliked him, he had valuable information and a common enemy. She would agree to his offer, she decided. 

Cass seemed to understand, but some of her other friends weren't going to be happy…

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"Nope. No. Absolutely not. Under no circumstances. Not happening." Arcade said, arms crossed.

"And do you have a better plan?" Six asked, clearly annoyed.

"Yes. We go find a nice vault to live in. And we do it without Mr. Dog Head."

"We'd just leave him to die? He helped us!"

"He left Nipton to die. And Camp Searchlight. And probably countless other innocent people, too."

"I agree with Arcade. I want nothing to do with the Legion fucker." Boone grunted.

"He isn't a part of the Legion anymore." Cass said.

"You're right. He's clearly a changed man. Let's let him into our home. Maybe give him some weapons too… Or some wooden poles and nails… the Legion is known for it's love of gay people. I'm sure I'll be fine." Arcade glared at Six. 

"I think we should give him a chance…" Six said, frowning.

"I'm not coming with you if he's going to be there. And that's final." Arcade said.

"Fine. Whatever. Get enslaved when the Legion comes for you and the rest of the Followers... I'm sure they need doctors. You're not thinking logically."

"Not thinking logically? I'm not the one wanting to pal around with a psychopathic slaver." Arcade hissed.

"I don't like him anymore than you do, but we're going to need all the help we can get. Now that Benny's gone, there's even fewer of us. We need allies and he's a powerful one."

"I mean… I see your point. But Six, how can we trust him? How do we know if he's even telling the truth? He could have made the whole thing up." Veronica spoke up, her eyebrows knitted together in thought.

"I don't know… for some reason, I believe him…" Six said. 

"I've had enough of this. I'm going back to Novac." Boone rose from his chair in the rec room, and began heading for the door.

"Wait! Boone…"

"I'm not going to sit around and listen to you try to defend one of the men who enslaved Carla."

"If you really want to leave, you can." Six said, sadly. 

"I appreciate everything you've done for me, Courier." He nodded to her as he walked out. 

"I think I'm out too… I'm going to return to the Brotherhood. It'll be safer there. You know where to find me if you need me. Sorry, Six." Veronica frowned as she got up to follow Boone.

"So who is staying, then?" Six asked with a sigh. 

"I'll go wherever you go. You know that." Cass said with a grin.

"I'm in, Boss." Raul smiled at Six.

Obviously Lily, ED-E, and Rex had no objections. Everyone turned their attention to Arcade.

"Fine. I'll stay. I don't approve though." He grumbled. Six walked over to him, wrapping him in a hug.

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Two days later, Vulpes returned to the Lucky 38. He was expecting the Courier to reject his offer of assistance. Killing Benny had not been one of his wiser choices and he somewhat regretted it. As such, he'd been considering what his next move should be.

Maybe he'd travel North and try and find some unoccupied land to settle on. It would be lonely, but he was tired of the hot sun and the desert. He'd bring Tigris with him, of course. 

Maybe he could head East to find Tigris a mate. This was a folly that had plagued him ever since Caesar had gifted him the creature. 

He could breed cats…. A rarity in this part of the continent, some even thought them to be extinct. He could sell them and make a comfortable living. It was a ridiculous idea, but not necessarily unappealing. He could start over somewhere where nobody would recognize him… 

No… he couldn't leave the Mojave without getting his revenge. It would be beneath a man such as himself. With his unquenchable bloodlust, he was sure that he could never lead a normal life.

Lanius must be brought down. He often fantasized about humiliating him, punishing him, killing him. He would take his time. He knew at least 100 different ways to make a man squirm and he planned to employ every single one on the former Legate. 

Alone, he was powerless to do anything. The situation was depressing to think about.

These thoughts spun through his mind as he once again scaled the walls of the Lucky 38. It was evening, maybe 6:00 or 7:00. He was wanting to catch the Courier awake this time.

He slid through the window and made his way across the guest bedroom.

There was noise coming from the room down the hall, music and laughter. Confidently, he strutted his way inside. Six was seated at a table, playing poker with several of her friends. Cass, Arcade, and Raul were all seated around the table. Rex sat on the floor, beside her.

Upon his entrance, Rex started barking. The laughter and conversation ceased. Everyone stared at him wide-eyed, waiting to see what he would do.

"It's okay, boy." Six patted the dog's head. 

"Courier? I believe we have things to discuss." He said.

"You know there's a door, right? I told the securitrons to let you inside." Six smiled, greeting him. "Why don't you come sit with us? Leave your weapons at the door if you don't mind."

Why was she being so friendly? Vulpes didn't know what to make of this, but he hesitantly made his way towards the group. Reluctantly, he left his ripper, machete, and rifle on a table in the hall. He took a seat across from the Courier, next to the profligate doctor.

He watched as Cass whispered something into her ear. Both women giggled. Vulpes had never been so confused in his life.

"Hey there, Legion boy. We've been talking and have decided that you can join our group." Cass winked at him.

"Why you disrespectful little-"

"Let me finish. There's some conditions, right Six?" Cass grinned at him. The look on his face could only be described as murderous.

"Yep. First, you will not come near us with any weapons until we feel like we can trust you… Second, we don't want to hear you spouting any legion nonsense. No profligate this or that-" Six said, slurring her words.

"Third, you are required to be shirtless while in my presence. Oooh… do you have one of those legion skirts?" Cass interrupted. Six was snorting with laughter. Vulpes noticed the doctor silently laughing, too. The group had obviously been drinking heavily, their faces flushed. 

"Excuse me?" He glared, remembering the switchblade hidden in his boot. It would be so easy to...

"Chill, Cass." Six giggled, taking a swig from her beer bottle. "Our final condition is that you have to do whatever I tell you to. If you break any of our rules, you're out. Understood?"

"I suppose…" Vulpes frowned. He wasn't really wanting to be taking orders from a profligate woman. Especially one that had caused him so much inner turmoil. The thought of it made him feel sick. 

He supposed he had little choice in the matter. Annoyance pricked at his every nerve.

"What are you even doing? An army is coming and you're sitting around getting drunk and playing cards like a bunch of fools? Did you not understand the severity of the situation?" Vulpes hissed, knocking a pile of cards across the table, ruining their game. 

"This is just what we do." Six shrugged. "And besides, we already have a plan. We've just been waiting for you to get here so we can get started. Would you like a beer?" She winked at him, causing his stomach to flip a somersault. It was an unpleasant sensation.

"I don't drink... What plan are you speaking of?" Vulpes stared at her, skeptically.

"What do you know about Vault 3?" 

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	3. Gomorrah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a fluffy disaster. Enjoy.

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Honestly it was a ridiculous plan. Tricking the fiends to leave the vault, then locking them out? Only the Courier would come up with something so contrived. It amazed him the lengths she was willing to go to to protect the lives of those who would kill her without a second thought. It was one of the many things that confused, frustrated, and intrigued him about the woman. 

To prepare, Vulpes was sent out to collect Cazador poison glands. The Courier told him that she'd prefer he get them from Cazadors who had already died, but she "wouldn't be able to stop him" from killing a few. He took that as permission to do whatever he wanted to them.

She would use the poison glands to create an aerosol gas highly irritating to the eyes and lungs, but non-lethal in such small amounts.

She would sneak into the vault wearing a gas mask, deploy a modified gas grenade in the air circulation vents, and wait for all of the raiders to leave. Then, she would lock up the vault and wait for the gas to disperse. With the raiders gone, the vault would be free for the taking. 

There were some flaws with her plan, however. What if the raiders refused to leave? What if they were too high off of chems to even notice the gas leak?

He supposed that he had his trusty ripper as a backup plan. Slaughtering the raiders as they fled the vault and hanging up their corpses as a warning to their friends sounded like a superior plan. Much more fun, too.

Cazadors. Oh, how he loathed the flying beasts. When he was a young boy, he had been separated from his tribe. He'd gotten lost and stumbled into a Cazador nest. One had stung him on his cheek. His face swole up like a balloon and it took weeks for the swelling to go down. The other tribal kids had been ruthless in their teasing…

He shook the memory away, not wanting to think about those times.

After wandering the hills west of Vegas for over an hour, he finally found his target. A Cazador nest, a big one too. 

His lips twisted into a devilish grin as he charged towards the nest, ripper purring to life in his hand.

The Cazadors didn't stand a chance. They only were able to sting him once as he cleared out their hive. One of the smaller ones had gotten him on his upper thigh, the site of the sting was an angry lump which had already doubled in size. After killing all of the adults, he crushed every single one of their eggs too, for good measure. He reveled in the crunch of the thick shells under his boot.

It wasn't exactly what The Courier wanted him to do… At least she would be pleased that he was returning with almost twenty poison glands. That should be plenty for her to work with.

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When Vulpes returned, he found Six, Cass, and Arcade all dressed in formal wear, gathered near the elevator. 

Six was wearing a dark red cocktail dress with a low neckline, her cleavage showing in all of its glory. She was even wearing makeup. Her eyes were lined with black eyeliner that swung out into little wings at the corner of her eyes. Her lips were stained a bright red. Vulpes was left speechless at the sight.

"Eyes are up here, buddy." Six grinned at him. "We're going to Gomorrah tonight. I figured we'd enjoy it while it's still here… Raul is working on the gas grenade. He's in the rec room. Would you bring him those Cazador glands? You can either stay here and help him or take the night off." 

"Six is newly single and looking for someone fun to bring home with her." Cass giggled.

"Shut up, Cass." Six elbowed her. 

There was no way in hell Vulpes was going to let that happen...

"Can I come with you?" Vulpes asked. He was very familiar with the Gomorrah. The Omertas were long standing legion allies. However, the Courier had ruined that alliance by convincing Nero and Big Sal to leave Vegas, leaving their brainless lackey in charge. 

"You want to go to Gomorrah with us?" Cass asked, smirking. "I don't think you'd like it there."

"I mean… if you really want to, I don't see why not. You'd better not be a wet blanket the whole night. You'll need to change first…" She frowned, noticing the amount of bug guts covering Vulpes's armor. "What the hell happened to your leg?" Six asked, gawking. 

"Cazador sting." Vulpes grimaced.

"You want me to take a look at that for you?" Arcade asked.

"It's fine. It will go away on its own eventually."

"Your choice, I guess." Arcade shrugged. 

"Go change, if you're coming. We're leaving soon." 

After bringing the Cazador glands to Raul, who responded with little more than a grunt, Vulpes headed into the bathroom. He took a quick shower, letting all of the Cazador goo run down the drain. After drying off with the plushest towel he's ever used, he changed into his gambler suit and hat.

As he exited the bathroom, Cass and Six started laughing.

"Oh my God, you weren't kidding about the hat!" Cass grinned.

"What's wrong with my hat?" Vulpes asked, offended. He felt his face growing hot. 

"What isn't wrong with it?" Six laughed. "Take the stupid thing off and let's go." 

The Gomorrah casino was busy tonight. It must be an NCR holiday, as the place was crawling with drunken troops. 

"Hello Cachino! We'd like a private hut in the courtyard with 3 of your finest male strippers…" Six glanced over at Vulpes momentarily, a mischievous smile forming at her lips. "A woman as well."

"T-That's really not necessary…" Vulpes stuttered out.

Cachino just laughed. "Sure thing! Follow me."

With lush palm trees and tropical ferns, the Gomorrah courtyard would have been a beautiful sight. If it weren't for all of the nearly naked whores dancing about, that is…

Their hut was located on the upper balcony, looking down on the pool. Some degenerate soldier was shamelessly fucking a prostitute in the water. Vulpes looked away, disgusted. 

Everyone chose a cushion and sat down, getting comfortable.

"Can I bring you anything from our bar or restaurant?" Cachino asked.

"What do you guys want to drink? It's on me." Six smiled. "I'll have a Vodka Nuka Cola."

"Bring me a bottle of whiskey." Cass grinned.

"A glass of red wine for me." Arcade said.

They all stared at Vulpes. "Sunset Sarsaparilla." He said.

"Wet freaking blanket!" Cass jabbed him with her elbow.

"Fine. I'll have a Rum and Nuka." Vulpes grumbled. He supposed he could use the drink, especially to help him get through the evening's 'entertainment'. 

"Atta boy!" Six smiled brightly at him, making his face flush. 

"Alright, I'll be back shortly with your drinks. The strippers are all busy right now, but they'll join you later this evening." Cachino winked at the courier, turning to leave.

"I'm really gonna miss this place." Cass sighed, leaning back.

"Me too. It's trashy as hell, but I can't help but love it here." Six smiled.

"It certainly has its charms..." Arcade added, staring at one of the men passing by the hut, wearing nothing but a thong.

"Hey it looks like that soldier finished up. I'm gonna go wade in the pool." Cass grinned, getting up from her cushion. She sprinted towards the stairs.

"Sure. Why not?" Arcade laughed, getting up to follow her.

"I think I'll stay here." Six laughed. "Try not to step on any syringes!"

Vulpes frowned, realizing that they were now alone. He stared at his shoes, struggling to think of something to say.

"You know, you don't have to drink if you don't want to… I don't want you to feel pressured." Six finally spoke, her voice gentle.

"It's fine… I do drink sometimes, you know. It wasn't always avoidable with my job… I just don't like feeling not in control."

"That's understandable." Six nodded. The two sat in silence for a while, watching Cass splashing Arcade down below. 

"Can I ask you something? It's been bothering me for a while now." Vulpes asked, voice quiet.

"What?"

"Back in Nipton… When we met… You… Ah…" He didn't think his face could get any hotter. Damn this woman, reducing him to a flustered mess. Usually, talking to women came naturally to him. He never actually cared about their response, though. This was different.

Six giggled at him, amused. "You mean flirting with you?"

"Yes."

"I dunno, it seemed like fun at the time. The bartender in Goodsprings told me how pent up legion men can get… and flirting with the infamous Vulpes Inculta makes for one hell of a story." Six shrugged.

"It wasn't genuine." Vulpes said, expression unreadable. She had been toying with him. He was good at hiding his hurt, but his pride was deeply wounded by her words.

Cachino returned with their drinks. 

"This is for you and your friends. On the house." Cachino set up a folding table in the center of the hut. From his cart he pulled out a metal cloche. After setting it on the table, he opened it revealing a brahmin roast. Another cloche was opened containing mashed potatoes. He also pulled out a set of plates and silverware.

"Thank you. It looks delicious." Six smiled.

"Of course. After everything you've done for me, it's the least I can do. Please let me know if you need anything else. I'll come back to check on you later."

The two ate in silence, tension still hanging in the air. The food was very good, even rivaling the feasts prepared by Caesar's personal chef. Vulpes couldn't bring himself to enjoy it. Six must have noticed him sulking, so she spoke up.

"You have a nice voice." Six said, spearing a bite of roast with her fork, not meeting his eyes. Vulpes's mood immediately lifted. He could work with this. With renewed confidence, he spoke.

"So I've been told… profligate women seem to love it for whatever reason. Not that I mind… It makes getting information out of them much easier for me. They're always disappointed when I don't take them to bed afterwards. Sleeping with dissolutes is beneath a man such as myself."

He leaned into her, perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, his lips tickling against her ear. "Though for you, my dear Courier, I'd gladly make an exception." 

Six pulled away from him, eyes wide. Her face was turning a delicious shade of scarlet. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the return of Cass and a soaking wet Arcade.

"Oooh food!" Cass immediately rushed over to grab a plate, piling it high with roast.

"I want to go home." Arcade huffed, crossing his arms. 

Six laughed, seemingly thankful for the distraction. "Oh Arcade… let me go find you a towel." 

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The strippers arrived a few hours later. It was just as awful as Vulpes expected. The woman couldn't have been more unappealing. She was bony, had caked on make-up reminiscent of a pre-war clown, and reeked of booze. He had endured 3 songs worth of her gyrating awkwardly into his lap. 

The worst part, by far, was having to watch some degenerate filth rut against the courier's leg. He was thankful when they had finally left the hut. Apparently Six had given them a generous tip and they were pleased. 

When it was finally time to leave, Vulpes was on his third drink. Everyone else, who knows? He had lost count a long time ago. Cass was getting increasingly rambunctious, Arcade was on a rant about the failures of pre war governments, and Six was all smiles.

She was getting more and more touchy-feely, much to Vulpes's delight. She'd caressed his Cazador sting, asking him if it still hurt. The gentle touch to his thigh made him absolutely ache for her. This woman would be the death of him. 

Luckily, Vulpes had enough sense not to take advantage of someone so drunk. As tempting as it was, she'd be furious with him tomorrow, negating any progress he'd made with her.

When they got back to the Lucky 38, Cass immediately passed out on her bed. Arcade was soon to follow.

Vulpes laid down on one of the couches, struggling to fall asleep. The day's events were spinning through his mind and wouldn't relent. Maybe he'd taken things too far… The courier's reaction to his advance on her wasn't necessarily a positive one.

Eyes closed, he felt someone cover him with a blanket. He opened them and saw the courier in her pajamas, walking away from him. He smiled to himself before finally drifting off to sleep. 

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	4. Monstrum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oof. I hate writing action scenes... Why am I writing a fallout fic again?

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Six woke up the next day with a pounding headache. Groaning, she climbed out of bed, gulping down what remained in the bottle of water on her nightstand.

After sitting for a few minutes, staring at the wall, Six decided it would be wise to try and force down some breakfast.

She made her way down to the cocktail lounge. Arcade was already awake, eating some crackers and reading a magazine. He looked especially grumpy this morning.

Six wandered into the kitchen and fixed herself a bowl of cereal. After pouring some brahmin milk over it, she made her way over to Arcade. It would be better to deal with whatever was souring his mood sooner than later. She sat down across from him.

"You look exceptionally crabby today. What's the matter?"

"I want to talk to you about Vulpes." He frowned at her.

"What about him?"

"It's just weird, you know? It's like he's suddenly our newest drinking buddy."

"It's not all bad. It's so easy to push his buttons. He looked like he was about to spontaneously combust during that lap dance." She made a dramatic exploding gesture with her hands and grinned at Arcade.

"I don't trust him and I don't think I'll ever be able to. The whole thing makes me uncomfortable." He shook his head at her disapprovingly.

"I think we should try to give him the benefit of the doubt. I mean, Benny tried to kill me when we met and look how that turned out." Six shrugged.

"Benny was a little yapping puppy compared to him... He's a real monster. You know the work that he's done for the Legion. You saw what was left of Nipton by the time he was through with it. He's owned slaves and he probably raped them, too." Arcade hissed.

"We don't know that. He's never talked about it." Six frowned.

"Convenient, huh? From what I've heard, they all do it. Please don't try and whitewash the Legion. They have some sort of sick rape quota they have to fill. "

Six couldn't help but laugh. A rape quota? That sounded ridiculous, even for the legion. Arcade looked even more annoyed at her laughter.

"Would you feel better if I asked him about it?"

"He'll probably just lie, anyways. I know I agreed to this… But having him around is just unsettling."

Six sighed, taking a bite of her now-soggy sugar bombs.

"He doesn't have to come drinking with us anymore. I don't think he enjoyed it much, anyways."

"I don't care what he does. You're missing the point."

"We've already had this discussion. He's helping us. He has yet to break the rules we set so we have no reason to ask him to leave."

"I still don't like this, Six."

"I know."

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Raul had finished the gas grenade around lunchtime. It was larger than Six had been expecting, about the size of a melon. Raul also handed her a small box with several switches and a button on it.

"Here you go, boss. I worked on it all night while you guys went out drinking. Not that I'd wanted to go or anything… It's activated with this control box. It's simple. Press the bottom and boom. Those raiders won't know what hit em."

"What do the switches do?"

"Don't worry about them. The control box is repurposed from something else. The switches don't actually do anything."

"Thanks Raul. And don't worry, we'll bring you along next time we go out. The grenade is important and you're the only one with the mechanical skills to put it together."

She grinned at him as she dug into her bag. "I picked you up a treat."

Six handed the ghoul a package of Fancy Lads Snack Cakes that didn't look too damaged.

"Aww thanks, boss. You know I love sweets."

"Of course. Now why don't you enjoy these and go get some rest? You'll be traveling to the vault tomorrow."

Since this was initially going to be a stealth mission, Six figured the fewer people, the better. Her and Vulpes would first head out towards the vault in the evening, as they were the stealthiest members of the group.

He would keep watch from a distance while she snuck in and activated the grenade. In the morning, the rest of the group would arrive. Hopefully, the fiends would be gone by then. If not, the others would serve as backup.

Six didn't want anyone to have to die, but she always knew that it was a possibility. She'd avoided dealing with the fiends until now because chem addicts can't really be reasoned with.

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The two made their way towards Vault 3.

It was late afternoon when Six finally found the courage to ask him.

"I-Is there a rape quota?" She squeaked out.

"Excuse me?" Vulpes looked thoroughly unimpressed.

"In the Legion… Arcade was saying that-"

"Since when is Arcade an expert on the Legion? And no. There isn't a 'rape quota'. He's probably heard about some twisted version of the quota on fathering children." Vulpes grumbled. "Rape is not a requirement. Most men take wives."

"Do you have a wife?"

"I did once. Not anymore." He said, tone icy.

"What happened to her?"

"I'm infertile." Vulpes stared at her intensely, as if studying her reaction.

"What?" She asked, her eyebrow quirked.

"I grew up in an irradiated valley, south of Utah, before the Legion assimilated my tribe. I lived there for the first 7 years of my life. Due to the radiation, nearly everyone from my tribe had trouble conceiving. We would have to marry outsiders to sustain our population." Vulpes sighed, rubbing circles into his forehead. "My wife was given to another man because I was unable to father any children."

"Did you love her?" Six asked quietly.

"What an idiotic question." Vulpes snapped, his eyes wild with anger. "Do I look like someone who believes in such sentimental nonsense? We are biologically programmed with a desire to produce offspring. Don't romanticize it as if humans are any better than wild animals in heat."

"Oh." Six frowned.

He glared at the courier. "It was an arranged marriage. She was afraid of me, even though I never laid a hand on her. She would go to great lengths to avoid interacting with me. I'd never seen her happier than the day she was sent away to her new husband. Although I tried to please her, I was indifferent about the whole thing from the start."

Six reached over to caress his arm, but he quickly swatted her away.

"Don't pity me. There's nothing I hate more." Vulpes hissed. "This conversation is getting far too personal for my liking. We're on a mission and should focus on it."

"Too personal? You're the one who told me that you want to fuck me. Forgive me for trying to figure out what sort of starving deathclaw I'd be jumping into bed with." Six huffed.

Vulpes's ever-present poker face shattered. He looked genuinely hurt. The two walked under a tense silence for a ways.

"A deathclaw? Do you really just see me as a monster? I'm aware that most people do." He said quietly.

"With the things that you've done, it's hard not to sometimes."

"I understand…"

The courier stepped out in front of him, stopping his movement forward. She turned to face him, really taking in his appearance. He had such a handsome face, cloudy blue eyes that were reminiscent of the summer sky, and a strong jawline.

"You're beautiful." She said gently. She raised her hand to caress his cheek. Vulpes sucked in his breath at her touch.

"You're perhaps the most confusing person I have ever met. I can never tell if you're being genuine with me." He frowned, exhaling into a sigh.

"I could say the same about you."

"What do you want from me?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed in frustration. Six stared at his face, expression unreadable.

"I just want you as you are." She said finally.

She stood on her tiptoes, planting a chaste kiss on his cheek. His shaven face was rough against her lips.

"Then you're a madwoman." He said, face reddening from her kiss.

"Probably. There is a thrill to it, you know."

"To what?" He asked.

"Being in the company of monsters."

Vulpes stared her in the eyes, his gaze intense and unflinching. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead he shook his head and turned away from her.

"We'd better keep moving. Nighttime is approaching, amica mea."

Thankfully, Six didn't speak any latin. He could lie to her all he wanted. It wouldn't change that he was falling in love with her and it terrified him.

He wanted nothing more than to give himself to her, fully. He wanted to tell her about his past, about his many scars both mental and physical. More than anything, Vulpes craved someone to recognize the humanity that he worked so hard to keep hidden away. It was easier to be a monster, a 'starving deathclaw' as she'd so eloquently phrased it. He was a coward.

He knew that a pain like he'd never felt before was just over the horizon, not that he didn't deserve it.

To her, he was nothing more than a plaything. A firecracker. A dangerous toy that she'd toss aside when the novelty wore off.

Nobody could ever love a deathclaw.

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The entrance to the vault was deep within the South Vegas ruins. Six was already doubting her plan just because of the sheer number of fiends living there. When she'd been told about vault 3, she'd pictured maybe a dozen of them. Not the city of raiders that they had stumbled into.

It was depressing, to be honest. Bare mattresses exposed to the elements, empty syringes and jet canisters laying around wherever you looked. It was tragic, really.

She watched their movements, crouching behind one of the many signs. She would need a stealth boy to get through. Possibly two.

She looked behind her and glanced at Vulpes, who was watching her from about 50 yards away. She gave him the hand signal that she was going to head inside.

Taking a deep breath, she slipped the stealth boy around her wrist, activating it. She immediately disappeared into a shimmer.

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Six hours. That's how long Vulpes had been waiting. As far as he could tell, nothing was happening. It was now early morning. Almost all of the fiends were passed out. There was very little movement or noise.

Six could be in serious trouble and he would need to make a decision soon. Should he keep waiting for her? Or should he go in after her, potentially spoiling everything? If he's going to go, now would be the best time to do it.

"Fuck." He cursed to himself. He pulled a stealth boy from his pack and went to go find Six. With ease, he crept past all of the raiders outside the vault. When he arrived at the vault door and started opening it, he realized what the problem was. It had to be the loudest door he'd ever had the displeasure of opening.

The sound of metal creaking and grinding against itself stopped as the door relaxed into its open position.

"Hey boss! There's another asshole trying to sneak in here." He heard someone shout from just inside. Vulpes froze. He considered just running away, leaving Six for now, and coming back with better weapons. Get him a flamer and he'd burn this place, and all of the animals inside, to the ground.

No. He couldn't leave Six. Who knows what they were doing to her? The thought made his blood boil. If they had hurt her, it would be the last mistake they ever make.

He pulled the stealth boy off of his arm, since they already knew he was here. A woman, if you could call her that, was guarding the entrance.

"You here for your friend?" She asked with an evil grin.

"It would be wise for you to let her go." He hissed.

"Why would we do that? She's got all kinds of cool stuff. Bitch is loaded. I bet we could get a great ransom for her."

"You don't know who you're dealing with." He said, coldly.

"Am I supposed to be scared, pretty boy?" The insolent woman smirked at him.

He pulled his Ripper from his bag, it purred to life as he stepped forward. The woman grinned at him, pulling out a knife of her own.

"We got a fighter, boys! Ya know, your friend wasn't nearly as much fun…"

At that, the woman swung at him wildly. He easily evaded her attack, throwing her off balance and sending her to the floor. Using his Ripper, he split her head in two, cutting her down to her chest. He shoved the mangled body to the side of the room, getting it out of his way.

He grinned widely as several more of the fiends poured into the vault's entrance. They were all high on Mars knows what and he made quick work of them. The pile of mutilated body parts was getting bigger. Perhaps, he'd build a towering pyre outside once he'd killed them all, a monument to their sins. The idea of it thrilled him.

He'd cleared out the living quarters, next. He noted several hostages that would need to be dealt with, later. A few of the fiends lay already dead in their beds, having overdosed. _Disgusting trash._

The living quarters were heavily flooded, making him unable to search their entirety. Six was still nowhere to be found.

Inside the recreation area, he'd found a locked door to the maintenance wing, the last place she could be.

When he finally reached Six, he'd barely broken a sweat. The fiends were nothing but a bunch of unremarkable junkies and they all died gracelessly.

The real challenge would be their leader. Everything about Motor Runner was bigger than Vulpes. Even sitting on his blasphemous 'throne', Vulpes could tell that the man towered over him. He even wielded a chainsaw that made his ripper look like a butter knife. At his side were two rabid looking dogs.

Six was behind him, unconscious. She had been tied up and stripped of her vault suit and armor, wearing only her undershirt and panties. She was splayed out on the floor, indecently.

Vulpes growled at the sight.

"What did you do to her?"

"She came in here sneaking around with some kind of bomb. I just gave her something to help her sleep, and give me some time to think."

"So you drugged her?"

"She'll probably be fine. You should be more worried about yourself."

"I will enjoy killing you immensely." Vulpes hissed.

"Good luck, you weak piece of shit." Motor Runner laughed at him.

As Motor Runner got up, Vulpes couldn't ignore the twinge of anxiety. This man was huge. There was no way he'd be able to take him down without some sort of advantage.

He noticed the gas bomb lying on a table, along with an assortment of chems. If only he could somehow activate it... He had brought a second gas mask in case he needed one, so that wasn't a problem. He racked his brain for a plan.

He reached into his bag and pulled out a frag grenade. Without a word, he pulled the pin and threw it at Motor Runners feet.

"You crazy motherfucker!" Motor Runner screamed as he ran out the door, his dogs following close behind.

Vulpes ran over to the gas bomb, pulling his mask over his face. He would need to work quickly. Shit, where was the control box?

He looked around the room frantically, before noticing the steel footlocker lying behind Motor Runner's throne. Luckily it wasn't locked. He'd used his last bobby pin. Six's gas mask, armor, and caps were all in there as well. He grabbed the mask, sliding it onto Six's face. She was completely limp and unresponsive, which worried him.

"You son of a bitch. My pets will eat well tonight!"

Motor Runner was charging back into the room after realizing that the grenade wasn't going to explode. Vulpes had collected some inert grenades exactly for this purpose. They made for a great distraction. It was lucky that he had decided to bring along what he had left of his Frumentarii equipment. This wouldn't be the first time it had saved his ass.

He pressed the button on the control box as Motor Runner breached the doorway.

Nothing happened.

"Fuck." Vulpes cursed. He pressed the button again. Still nothing. It was only when he jiggled one of the switches that the gas grenade activated with a sickening hiss. Damn that ghoul.

Not even a stride away from Vulpes, Motor Runner fell to his knees as he breathed in the fumes, crying out in agony. His two mongrels whined in pain, as they were also experiencing the effects of the Cazador venom.

Wasting no time, Vulpes rushed over with his ripper, decapitating Motor Runner. He tore his limbs away from his body, too, in his rage. The dogs were soon to follow.

Taking a moment to breathe, his attention returned to Six. He kneeled down by her side to get a closer look at her. Carefully, he unbound her wrists. She was still breathing, but remained unresponsive. With a grunt, he lifted her body up.

He gently placed her upon Motor Runner's throne, making sure she could rest more comfortably. He double checked the seal on her gas mask before leaving her.

Leaving the maintenance wing, he left to find the controls for the vault door. He would need to lock it now, so the fiends from outside couldn't come in and surprise him. He would deal with them in due time.

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	5. Proelium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'shrugs' I don't think I'll ever be happy with this chapter, so I'm just going to post it.
> 
> I'll edit it more later.
> 
> I've also been meaning to update the description on this.

Six was quite sure that she'd died and awoken in some strange afterlife. Everything felt wrong, a cloud had fallen over her mind, making it impossible to focus. Her body felt pleasantly warm, yet numb. There was something digging into her face, she noticed. Her arms felt heavy and she was unwilling to pull them up to examine it. Her body felt like it was made of lead. Every movement took an enormous amount of energy.

After a few moments, she willed her eyes open. There was some sort of fog surrounding her. She couldn't see more than a few feet in front of her. She stretched her legs, finding that they were bare.

The floor in front of her was dark and wet… Something was very, very wrong.

Six, however, couldn't care less. She shut her eyes again, savouring the warmth pulsing through her veins. She soon let sleep overtake her once more.

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"Six?"

A woman's voice stirred her. She opened her eyes and smiled. The fog was gone now, as was the foreign object covering her face. The voice belonged to Cass.

"You're here too, huh? Are we dead?"

"You're not dead. You're in Vault 3. It appears that you were given enough med-x to put down a large brahmin. It'll take a few hours for you to come down, but you should be okay." It was Arcade's voice this time, coming from somewhere behind her.

Vault 3… Oh yeah. She remembered now. There was a man with dogs. The dogs weren't very nice. He had a chainsaw, too…

"What if he comes back?" She asked, eyes widening.

"We locked Vulpes in the cell we found the hostages in. You don't need to worry about him anymore." Cass looked at her sympathetically.

"What? Why'd you do that? I meant the dog man with the chainsaw…"

"God, she's high as a kite. Just look at those pupils… We should find her somewhere to sleep it off." Arcade spoke again, shining a painfully bright light in her eyes.

"Sleep is good." Six closed her eyes and smiled.

"We're probably going to have to carry her…" Cass grumbled.

Six just mumbled in affirmation. Her legs were too heavy to walk. She felt herself lifted up into the air. Imagining that she had grown wings and was flying away, she drifted off once more.

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"Ugh. What happened?" Six groaned as she sat up in bed. Cass was seated next to her, flipping through a magazine.

"Mornin' sleeping beauty. You've been out almost all day, now. How do you feel?"

"Sore." Six frowned.

"Yeah. That's normal. So there's good news and bad news."

"What?"

"The good news is that we've secured the vault! Everything has already been moved here from the casino. By the way, we really need to have a talk about some of your belongings..." Cass quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Hmm?"

"For starters, where did you get 37 gold bars, and why were they under your bed? It took us two trips to carry them all…"

At that, Six laughed. It was a crackled sound, her voice still weak.

"Oh man. That's quite the story…"

Cass shook her head, smiling. "You can tell me about it another time."

"So what's the bad news?"

Cass grimaced. "Do you think you can walk? You're gonna have to see this for yourself."

Cass took her hands, helping Six rise to her feet. Still feeling a little bit dizzy, she looked around, taking in her surroundings. She was in a small bedroom that looked like it had seen better days. The floor was filthy, the linoleum peeling up at the edges. A pile of discarded syringes sat in the corner.

A set of clothes were folded up in a pile at the foot of the bed. She quickly dressed, ignoring the aching soreness in her arms and legs.

They exited the bedroom, into a much larger living area. A metal cage was built into the wall. Sitting in the corner was Vulpes, a nasty bruise under his right eye. Covered in blood, he was glaring at them. His arms were crossed. He looked like a child who had been put into 'time out.'

Arcade sat in a chair a few feet away from him, not even acknowledging the women.

"Why is Vulpes locked in a cage? Was this Arcade's doing?" Six grinned.

"Mine, actually. Oh man, you missed so much. They got into a fist fight! Arcade wanted to make him leave. I wanted to wait until you were awake to make a decision. This was the compromise."

"What did he do?" Six frowned. Cass just motioned for her to follow.

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Six was speechless, her stomach churned at the sight. The pile of burning bodies smelled awful. It must have been almost 15 feet tall. How did he manage this by himself? Severed heads were skewered onto posts, their faces twisted into silent screams. Motor Runner's chainsaw dangled nearby, hanging from a bloodied chain.

"How in the hell…?"

Cass shruddered. "He was just finishing setting it on fire, when we got here."

To Cass's surprise, Six started laughing. She was laughing so hard, she had to sit down.

"I don't see what's funny about this." Cass glared at her.

"Sorry. I'm just shocked. It's just so… holy shit." Six laughed. "I still feel like I'm in a fever dream. This is so… dramatic and terrible."

"Do you remember what happened? Arcade seems to think that this is all Vulpes's fault." Cass frowned at her friend, increasingly concerned about her well-being.

"No… Vulpes waited outside, like he was supposed to. I tried to sneak in the vault. I got caught almost immediately, the damn door was so fucking loud."

Cass nodded. "Yeah, it is pretty loud."

"When I refused to fight them, the fiends took me to their leader. Such an awful man, dumber than rocks. He smelled like shit, too. And those damn dogs were even worse. He…" Six winced at the memory. "He stripped me and tied me up. Then he jabbed a needle into my leg and that's the last thing I remember."

"So then Vulpes…"

"Vulpes must have come in after me. I'm guessing he wasn't too happy with my captors." Six chuckled darkly, staring at the tower in front of her. "He saved me… Still, he disobeyed my orders and made this fucking… thing." She motioned at the tower of bodies, eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you want to do about it?" Cass asked quietly.

"I'm not sure, yet. I think I should talk to him, first."

"That's probably best. Do you want me to come with you?"

"Nah, it's okay. I can handle it."

As they walked back inside the vault, Six noticed the sheer amount of blood that had accumulated on the floors and walls. The place was filthy. Lily was just inside the entrance. She was humming to herself, cleaning up gore with a mop and bucket.

Years worth of graffiti decorated the walls. While most of it was crude, some of it was surprisingly charming. In one of the bathrooms, someone had painted a cute little stick figure couple holding hands. In another, a poorly drawn phallic shape.

Cass headed towards the dining area, to see if she could find herself some food and whiskey. Six casually wandered the halls, admiring their new base. With a little bit of cleaning, and some renovations, this place would be perfect.

The next order of business would be evacuating Vegas. Obviously, not everyone would be able to fit inside the vault. Maybe 100 people at the most… Six frowned, knowing that she would have to make some difficult decisions soon.

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Arcade had been sitting in that chair, glaring at him, for hours now. It was starting to become unsettling.

He had fucked up, badly. He knew it, too. Six was probably on her way to yell at him and tell him to leave. She had no tolerance for violence and Vulpes had been particularly enraged. It didn't help that nobody would listen to him. They all thought that he'd been the one to strip her and drug her, not her rescuer. It made him sick.

He'd been so damn angry about what that animal had done. The way he had found Six... He deserved a more painful death than Vulpes had given him.

Having calmed down now, he knew what a horrible mistake he'd made. There was no coming back from this.

Six entered the room, heading right his way. He tightly wrapped his arms around himself, knuckles growing white where they dug into his sides. As he tried to maintain a neutral expression, the anxiety felt like it would swallow him whole.

"Keys." She stood next to Arcade, hand open. The doctor dropped the rusted keyring into her hand, giving her an inquisitive look as he rose from his chair.

"Leave us." Her tone was dark. Arcade gave him one last smirk before turning to leave. Acid rose in Vulpes's throat.

Without a word, she unlocked the cage. She stared at him silently, before heading inside. She sat down in front of him, legs crossed.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Six asked, expression unreadable.

He was more than a little relieved that she wanted to hear him out.

"I didn't drug you." He hissed. "That damn doctor doesn't know what he's talking about."

"I know." Her face softened. "I remember Motor Runner injecting me with something right before I passed out. What the hell happened?" She hissed.

"You were gone for six hours. I came in after you."

"Okay…"

"The raiders attacked me when I demanded your release. I dealt with them." He said, coldly.

"That's an understatement. What about your little… art project outside?" Six glared.

"A deterrent. We don't want the other fiends coming after us, later." He said blankly.

She gave him a skeptical look, clearly not buying his explanation.

"Fine. I was angry. I didn't like what he had done to you." He grumbled.

He looked her in the eyes, gauging her reaction. The look she gave him wasn't an angry one, far from it. To his surprise, he recognized it as the same look she'd given him in Nipton.

She pounced on him, her lips crashing against his in a rough kiss. He pulled away from her, in shock. They stared at each other, a tense silence filling the air.

"Sorry… I didn't…" She began apologizing. Vulpes let out a nervous laugh.

"Well, that certainly wasn't the reaction I was expecting. What is it, then? Does it turn you on when I kill people?" He asked, amused.

"No! I mean… I-I don't know what it is." She stuttered out, looking deeply conflicted. "You're still in trouble, you know. Teasing me isn't going to make your punishment any easier."

"You're going to punish me?" He smirked at her.

"Not like that… You're impossible." She squeaked, hiding her reddening face in her hands. She was so adorable.

"So then, what are you going to do to me?" He purred into her ear, noticing the resulting goosebumps prickling her skin. She pulled away from him, her lips pressed together in annoyance

"You're going to clean this place, top to bottom. I don't want to see a single trace of blood or graffiti when you're done." She said. His smile disappeared.

"That sounds… significantly less enjoyable than what I was imagining. I did save you, you know. I had hoped you would be more grateful." He frowned.

"I am grateful. I'm letting you stay, aren't I? Arcade wants you gone... By the way, a fist fight? Really?" She asked, glaring at him.

"When your friends arrived yesterday, the doctor wasn't particularly happy to see me. There was an altercation. He managed to get in a few good punches before the super mutant broke it up…" His frown deepened.

Six couldn't help it, the thought of Lily breaking up a fight between the two men was hilarious. She started laughing. Vulpes laughed too, mostly to relieve the tension that had been eating away at him. He pulled her into a tight embrace.

"You don't know just how relieved I am that you're alright. When I found you, you were… unresponsive. I wasn't sure you were ever going to wake up." He said quietly, nuzzling his face into the side of her neck. 

Six sighed happily at the sensation. "I'm only alright because of you… You're a real bastard, you know that?" She giggled.

"So I've been told."

They stayed like that for a while, Vulpes affectionately tracing circles onto her back. Holding her felt better than he'd ever imagined. Her skin was soft and she felt warm in his arms. He imagined lying in bed with her, how her bare skin would feel against his. The thought caused a swarm of butterflies to flutter around in his already uneasy stomach.

He wanted her to kiss him again. It had been torturously brief, leaving him wanting more. 

These unpleasant new feelings he had been experiencing lately were enough to drive him mad. The pleasant ones were even worse. At least, now he knew that she was afflicted with confusing feelings of her own.

A loud cough from behind them made her pull away. She turned around to find Cass staring at them, awkwardly.

"Um… I'm not sure what I'm interrupting here, but we have a problem." Cass blushed.

"What is it, now?" Six growled, exasperated and embarrassed by the interruption.

"There's a group of raiders gathered outside. They're trying to bash in the door…" She frowned. "So far, it's been pretty ineffective. They should probably be dealt with, though."

"So much for your 'deterrent'..." Six hissed. 


End file.
